


you're like the net under the ledge

by GuardianKarenTerrier



Series: Week Two: AU [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, Gen, Tattoos, adrien has been couch surfing for a couple years, gabriel hasnt noticed yet, kims place: where everyone can crash whenever theyd like, liberty!adrien, past Luka/Adrien
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-08-19 15:34:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20212114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuardianKarenTerrier/pseuds/GuardianKarenTerrier
Summary: "I didn't know you had a tattoo," Adrien says, blinking down at Luka's arm with interest, where the barest edge of what might be a flower peeks out.Luka obligingly rolls his sleeve up further, revealing that the larger tattoo is a rose and a gemstone- it might be an opal- wrapped around an anchor.  "Yeah, it's kind of a family thing. Mom and Juleka and Rose all have them too."Adrien's hands still on the keyboard he's packing up.  He feels Plagg claw his stubborn way up to just beneath Adrien's collar just before the wave of jealousy can hit, and though Adrien still tries to scan discreetly for butterflies he's reassured by the protective rumble Plagg is emitting below human hearing.  Plagg would never admit to it being protective, but Adrien knows his kwami.  He knows how much Plagg cares."Rose, too?" Adrien says, cautiously, careful to keep any trace of envy from his tone.





	1. if we only live once

**Author's Note:**

> for the 'tattoo' prompt for adrienaugreste 2k19, thanks shinobicyrus for the beta!

"I didn't know you had a tattoo," Adrien says, blinking down at Luka's arm with interest, where the barest edge of what might be a flower peeks out. 

Luka obligingly rolls his sleeve up further, revealing that the larger tattoo is a rose and a gemstone- it might be an opal- wrapped around an anchor. "Yeah, it's kind of a family thing. Mom and Juleka and Rose all have them too."

Adrien's hands still on the keyboard he's packing up. He feels Plagg claw his stubborn way up to just beneath Adrien's collar just before the wave of jealousy can hit, and though Adrien still tries to scan discreetly for butterflies he's reassured by the protective rumble Plagg is emitting below human hearing. Plagg would never _ admit _ to it being protective, but Adrien knows his kwami. He knows how much Plagg cares. 

"Rose, too?" Adrien says, cautiously, careful to keep any trace of envy from his tone. 

"Yeah." Luka has the grace to sound guilty. "I mean... she's been family forever now, you know? And I, uh." He puts his guitar in its stand and looks away from Adrien, out the porthole. "We'd- you know, we'd sort of already broken up."

Adrien swallows. He knew, still knows, that it was the best choice they could have made. Neither of their hearts were really in it and it showed- he's in love with someone else still, and for that matter so is Luka. He's never asked Luka for details, and Luka has never pried about who, exactly, it is that claimed Adrien's whole heart years and years ago. 

Because Adrien had thought that, maybe, if he tried dating other people- if he tried _ dating _\- he might discover it was only infatuation that had drawn him so quickly to his partner.

Except that his feelings for his partner had continued to strengthen, and his feelings for his boyfriend hadn't.

They hadn't even gone on enough dates to have told any of their friends they were dating at all.

But they'd stayed good friends even after, something Luka reminds him of a moment later when he looks up and asks, "Are you staying here tonight?"

Adrien shakes his head. "Nino's tonight, then there's a few of us going to Kim's for the weekend." 

Luka is one of the handful of people who knows that Adrien hasn't slept at home since-

Well.

He'd realised, shortly after his sixteenth birthday, that he had yet to be caught slipping out to patrol as Chat Noir. He'd done so every night, for years, even when Ladybug asked him rather worriedly if he wouldn't rather start trading off patrols with the team.

(But she's never once suggested that the two of them stop partnering for _ their _ patrol. Not once, and he loves her that little bit more for it).

He'd been a little more bold, after that realisation. He'd vanished a little more frequently. He'd gradually stopped going home for lunch, and when that wasn't noticed by anyone but the Gorilla, Adrien had gradually stopped going home at all.

He goes to dinner. Sometimes. When his father is supposed to be there. 

(Father is never there). 

When he turned seventeen, the Gorilla left, and Adrien was surprised at how much it devastated him. His bodyguard had paid him more attention since starting school than either his father or Nathalie had, though, and he'd made a point starting relatively early of looking the other way if he caught Adrien slipping off to spend time with friends (or to fight supervillains). The Gorilla left his contact info with Adrien, and he still emails back and forth with him, but it isn't the same. The Gorilla has been around for more of Adrien's life and achievements than his _ parents _ have, he'd never thought about the man _ leaving_.

So Adrien never sleeps at home unless he has no other choice. The Gorilla is gone, Father hasn't checked in on Adrien past seven at night in years, and Nathalie has been more preoccupied and less attentive since even before the Gorilla left.

The Gorilla still won't tell Adrien his real name. All his online contacts are still under the Gorilla, with an overabundance of Gorilla Grodd icons, and it's strange even now to see the way he reacts to Adrien's gentle teasing over text. Adrien's determined now to convince his ex-bodyguard to tell him his name, even though Max has offered to find out for him and Adrien doesn't doubt that even if Max can't Markov can.

Adrien had started off crashing at Nino's when he could, but that wasn't sustainable, not every night. He still sleeps on Marinette's balcony sometimes, although when he does that he goes as Chat Noir, because he's tried his best to keep his rather unusual living situation mostly a secret.

He's sure he's failed but he _ did _ try. Still, he doesn't stay at any of the girl's homes as Adrien; he'd rather not get anyone into trouble. The Liberty doesn't really count, between Luka and the way Anarka encourages anyone who wants to stay the night to do so.

It does mean running the risk of waking up to find the boat has changed location in the middle of the night, because Anarka thinks that's funny, and Adrien has a lot of respect now for how rarely Rose and Juleka were ever late to class.

Adrien had slept on the Liberty almost every night during the brief time he and Luka were dating and Anarka likes to say she still keeps a berth open for him. He's really pretty sure she does know how long it's been since he bothered sleeping at home, and Rose and Juleka _ definitely _know because Rose is in the same boat, and Nino knows because obviously Nino knows, and one day Alix had approached Adrien in class and told him quietly that Kim lets anyone stay the night whenever they need to.

She hadn't been kidding, either. 

Adrien still doesn't know what Kim's parents _ do _ for a living, but whatever it is, they're never home. Kim's long since taken over the storage room next to his bedroom, shoving a discarded futon mattress in there alongside anything he happened across and decided to keep- Adrien only finds out what 'garbage-picking' even _ is _ when he drops into Kim's one night and half the guest room has been taken up with a halfway-assembled children's outdoor playset with a tiny slide and an even smaller ladder.

By the next time he stops by it's fully assembled and Ondine has insisted on scrubbing it clean, so it stays in the room. Alix likes to insist on sleeping on the partly-enclosed top section and once Adrien's seen her take a blanket up there and build a haphazard fort a few times he tries it too.

It isn't the most comfortable place to sleep, especially on the nights where he's not the only one who's taken refuge at Kim's, but comfortable and comfort_ing _ aren't the same thing. 

He thinks Alix is just at Kim's to visit with her friends, and same for Nathaniel and Ondine, but he's less sure about Marc and Max.

(Alix had _ very much _ not been kidding).

Adrien likes the nights there are other people staying at Kim's. The futon's lumpy and threadbare and not at all big enough, and the playset is _ really _ not intended for sleeping, and he misses being able to talk to Plagg more at night because he doesn't have as many chances to do that as he would like, but it's worth it. It's worth it to be able to hang his arms over the edge of the playset at night and talk to Nathaniel as he and Marc toss a tennis ball back and forth from the futon, or to go to the kitchen in the middle of the night and run into Ondine rummaging through the fridge.

Kim's kitchen is a nightmarish mess and Adrien _ loves _it. There's a board game with half the pieces missing in the pantry, craft supplies on top of the cabinets (he thinks those belong to either Marc or Alix), and a tupperware container way in the back of the fridge that's been there forever that everyone has been daring each other to open for longer than he's been coming there. He tries to convince Plagg to check it once and his kwami flatly refuses. 

It's not the same as spending the night at Nino's or Marinette's or Luka's, but even though Adrien gets an itch in his chest whenever he thinks about the way Kim's parents are never around the utter lack of _ any _ supervision never loses any of its lustre for him.

He does go to stay with Chloe once.

He does not go to stay with Chloe again.

He comes back to reality when Luka snaps his guitar case shut and leans it up against the wall. "Don't forget we have band practice Monday night. See you then?"

Adrien grins, agreeing with a quick nod. He's still not quite acclimated, even now, to the way he knows for sure he can make band practice. He doesn't have a photoshoot- he checks a week in advance. He doesn't have fencing, and Master Fu is happy to work in Chinese (and Miraculous) lessons around Adrien's schedule, and as long as Adrien remembers to show up for the one time every couple of weeks that his father demands to hear his progress on the piano Father doesn't take notice that Adrien no longer practices at home. 

Adrien stows his keyboard under Luka's bed with his spare change of clothes- they'd never seen any reason for him to stop keeping one there.

When he finally leaves, after briefly greeting Rose and Juleka as they arrive, he doesn't go to Nino's. It's too early yet, and he has other obligations besides.

He beats Ladybug to their rendezvous point but only by bare seconds.

"Getting slower, minou," she teases him, ruffling his hair, and Adrien ducks into it with both a purr and an ache deep in his chest. He'd told Ladybug that he had a boyfriend and she'd been so happy for him and so encouraging. 

She'd also become much more willing to indulge his desire for physical contact, and it wasn't like they'd been shy about that to start with.

He doesn't know quite how to feel that she hadn't stopped even after he'd told her they'd broken up.

_ That _ night he'd spent entirely out on patrol with Ladybug, with her teasing him back into a better mood every time he'd started to wonder if they'd made the right decision. She insists it's only paying him back for whenever he's done the same for her but Adrien doesn't think he can consider it the same. He'd had a great relationship with Luka and still _ does_, even if it didn't work out romantically. The two times Ladybug had mentioned, nearly offhand like she needed to _ tell _ someone, that she'd gotten up the nerve to try and ask someone out they had both turned out to have just started dating someone else.

Adrien has a lot of trouble imagining who would turn Ladybug down, but he can admit that he was happy enough after his first date with Luka that he probably wouldn't even have _ noticed _ anyone else showing an interest in him.

"Do you want to split up tonight?" Ladybug asks, scanning him with a raised eyebrow.

Chat Noir hesitates. He doesn't want to, he really never wants to, but it would be easier to get to Nino's afterwards if he did. 

But sometimes when he patrols late with Ladybug they find themselves sleeping on a rooftop or in someone's unlocked greenhouse instead. Or in parks, sometimes, or even in usually inaccessible parts of famous landmarks. 

Not the Eiffel Tower, though. They've both agreed that meeting there is one thing, but _ sleeping _ there would only be tempting fate.

Ladybug's expression softens at whatever she sees in his face. "Together, then."

Patrol goes by far too fast, even though by the time they call a halt it's late enough to be considered morning. 

Guiltily, Adrien thinks that it's far too late to go to Nino's. Nino understands that Adrien doesn't always make it, though, even if Adrien is pretty sure Nino thinks that's because Adrien's father still demands that he sleep at home sometimes.

Which, technically, is true. Adrien isn't supposed to be spending the night anywhere_ except _ at the mansion. Since his father hasn't bothered to do anything that would enforce that rule, Adrien feels free to ignore it. 

Besides, if Father hasn't noticed by now then he isn't going to.

Ladybug grabs his hand and tugs him under the shelter of a bridge, sending him off-balance as he stumbles after her.

"My Lady?" he asks, voice lilting uncertainly.

She drops into a seated position, pulling him down with her, and then arranges herself so that her back is to the bridge supports. Still a bit stunned, it doesn't take Adrien very long to scramble into position beside her. 

"Something's bothering you, minou," Ladybug says softly. 

He drops his gaze and rubs the back of his neck. He shouldn't be surprised that she noticed, but he never has gotten over being surprised by his friends paying enough attention to know how he feels. "It's nothing."

She leans against his side, lighting a line of warmth that he can't help but press back into. "Chat Noir. It's not nothing. You're upset."

"All right, it's not nothing," he amends, still not looking at her. "But it's not- I'm just being ridiculous." He rubs at his eyes, cautiously; he's scratched himself while in the suit before.

"Kitty," she says, bumping his shoulder with her own. "Hey, you don't have to tell me. But it's obviously bothering you."

He finds himself spilling out an explanation about Luka's tattoo, scrambling more than once to censor any identifying details.

"It's not even that I want to be included in it," he says, defeated. "It wouldn't feel right if I was! I just-" He hesitates, but Ladybug's known his family situation is less than happy for a long time now. "I'm just jealous, I guess."

Ladybug doesn't say anything for a lot longer than he expects. 

When she finally does, it's, "Did you know there's a convention next weekend?"

He twists to stare at her, stunned and a little hurt at such a non-sequitur in response to his admission.

Ladybug's staring down at her hands, though, and she takes one of his without looking up. "There's a costume contest. There'll be lots of people dressed as heroes. We could-" She swallows, heavily. "Minou, I could meet you there."

Adrien stammers something, but he can't hear it over his suddenly pounding heart.

Ladybug looks back up at him. "Because we can't get tattoos in the suits?"

His heart does something very complicated and likely unwise. 

Ladybug's eyes soften behind her mask and her grip on his hand tightens. "I know your family situation is complicated, kitty. But- but you're my partner no matter what, all right? So if you want to, to get a tattoo together-" She shrugs, but she keeps looking at him. "Chat Noir, I kind of wanted to ask you about it already. One of my friends has a similar tattoo, actually, she doesn't show it off much but it sounds really similar- hers is her family and her girlfriend. And I love that idea, except my parents don't want tattoos, but you're _ really _ important to me so if you want to-"

He twists around to hug her tightly. "My lady, I would _ love _ to." His voice wavers. "What- what would we get?"

She slides just enough out of his grasp to return the hug. "Something about a black cat and a ladybug, minou, what _ else _ would we get?" 

Adrien's purring so loudly Ladybug must feel it. She teases him more but doesn't shove him off at any point, and they agree to meet up every night until the convention so that they can figure out what they want their tattoo to be.

Adrien tries to get Ladybug to say the words 'our tattoo' as often as possible. She definitely catches on, and quickly, but if anything she says it more often.

He only stops long enough between patrol and school that day to detransform and feed Plagg, and then he lets Luka and Nino both know that he won't be sleeping at either of their places for the next several days. He _ could _ go home and get a sketchbook but he ends up accepting a spare from Marc instead. 

Adrien's never actually joined the art club, but considering he's spent the night with everyone in it more than once now he's mostly considered an honorary member anyway.

He meets Ladybug hours before their usual patrol time and finds she's had the same idea. _ Her _ sketchbook, however, is already halfway full, while his is only a single doodled yin-yang with their respective symbols/signatures in each half.

"Oh, _ wow _," Adrien breathes, flipping through her sketches, unable to concentrate on any single one. His grin grows. "They're all-" He flips to the last page and stops. 

It's nearly the same as his own doodle, only with their halves reversed.

Ladybug blinks at his expression and reaches out to tilt the sketchbook back towards herself. "That one?"

Hardly breathing, Adrien shows her his own sketchbook.

Ladybug's face lights up. "Oh, well now we _ have _ to."

"But there's so many good ideas in yours," Adrien protests, weakly. There _ are _ but there's still something special about the two of them having separately come up with nearly the same sketch. "I really like the one with the cat chasing the ladybug, too."

Her lips twitch. "That one was mostly a joke, kitty."

His ears droop. "Oh."

"Chat Noir," she says, firmly, handing his sketchbook back and then putting her hands on his shoulders. "I said mostly. And we don't have to decide right now, we have the rest of the week, remember?"

He smiles at her, inwardly relieved. He'd been worried that he wouldn't have the time he'd been looking forward to with Ladybug if they settled on a design right away.

"Besides," she adds dryly, "It looks like we need to figure out which half we each want, anyway. We'll figure out _ exactly _ what we want, okay? And where." She raises an eyebrow. "Please know that I draw the line at tramp stamps."

He giggles before he can help it. "Aww, are you sure?"

"I was leaning towards a shoulder," she admits. "Easy to cover up, but easy to show off, too."

He straightens, pressing harder into her touch with a purr. "You _ want _ to show it off?"

Her lips curl in a grin. "We can always say we're fans. It isn't a lie."

"What about- all of your other ideas?" He glances down at the sketchbooks he's still holding. "My lady, these are really good."

"Oh, minou. This is for our _ first _ tattoo." Her grin turns blinding. "No one ever said it had to be our _ last_." 


	2. with broken words i've tried to say

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for the 'cosplay' prompt for adrienaugreste! 
> 
> i did not expect to be expanding on this one so quickly
> 
> thank you shinobicyrus!

"Kid." Plagg hovers behind him, cocking his head at the mirror. Plagg doesn't actually seem to show _ up _ in mirrors if he doesn't want to, so it's a little disconcerting. "I think she probably assumed you were going as _ yourself. _"

Adrien twists slightly, adjusting his suit. It's not a direct copy of Ladybug's; for one thing, he's not sure he has any chance at all of pulling that off. For another, he thinks she'll appreciate this more.

"Who even told you about steampunk?" Plagg complains, settling on Adrien's shoulder and scratching idly at the edge of his black-edged red vest. The embroidery on it is a lot more detailed than he'd ever expected from the vague list of preferences he'd given; ladybugs march across it in an uneven pattern, down from one shoulder to vanish around his sleeve as well as all along the hems. 

"Who told _ you _ about steampunk, Plagg?" Adrien asks mildly as he reaches for the goggles he's using in place of a mask. Those, he's _ very _ proud of- he'd asked Chloe for advice on where to find most of the outfit, since she's someone he knows for a _ fact _cosplays as Ladybug, and she'd given him a list of sites a mile long to check. After cross-referencing her advice with the Ladyblog Adrien had settled on commissioning the vest and pants from a site that allows complete anonymity.

Looking at the example photos, Adrien is honestly pretty sure the site is Marinette's.

He sincerely doubts that Chloe has realised that.

He'd borrowed the billowy undershirt from Luka, and Juleka had volunteered several accessories, including a fancy watch that the three of them and Rose had worked on until it bore more than a superficial resemblance to Ladybug's yo-yo. 

The goggles, however, Adrien had spent several nights making himself. They should be easy enough to see out of, but he's spread enough ladybug-patterned cloth out between the bug-eyed eyepieces that his face stays thoroughly disguised. He's still not over his excitement that Ladybug has agreed to meet up as civilians at all and he doesn't want to do anything that might endanger their identities. 

He's included nods to his own suit as well, like the necklace Juleka had made almost entirely from tiny gears only to place a larger one right where his bell would normally rest. His boots, too, are similar to his transformed ones. Adrien's had to rush to patrol more than a few times now when he'd gotten too caught up in working on his costume.

Right as Adrien shoves his second pair of goggles, the cat-themed ones he couldn't resist, up to rest in his hair Plagg vanishes abruptly. That's Adrien's usual warning that someone else is about to walk in on him.

He needs that usual warning, ever since he's taken to spending so much of his time on the Liberty or at Kim's or Nino's.

Luka knocks on the open bathroom door before sliding in beside Adrien to take the ladybug goggles from his hands. "You know you should be leaving now to beat the rush, right?"

Adrien blinks at Luka as he gently slides the goggles onto his head and adjusts their strap, before stepping back with a smile. "There. Steampunk Ladybug, and cat accessories too- I bet you win the costume contest."

Adrien drops his eyes and rubs the back of his neck, flushing. Even though Adrien has halfway lived on Luka's family's boat for much longer than they'd ever dated, even though they've both seen each other nearly at their worst dozens of times now, and even though they've acknowledged that they're both in love with other people- Luka is so careful and gentle with him that it still has an effect Adrien can barely explain. 

The only times he's ever tried is with Nino, who's still the only one Adrien's told he dated Luka at all. Ladybug knows that Chat Noir had a boyfriend briefly, but not who, and that's not quite the same.

He wishes he could tell her it was Luka. He really thinks she'd like Luka.

"Adrien," Luka says, and Adrien tears his gaze from the mirror to look at his friend. 

Luka's grinning, and he reaches out to ruffle Adrien's hair. "Good luck."

Adrien blinks, shifting from foot to foot and suddenly wishing he could have found a way to include a tail without straying too far from Ladybug's theme. "What makes you think I need luck?"

"I do know you, you know." Luka moves his hand from Adrien's head to rest it lightly on his shoulder instead. "I haven't seen you this nervous _ or _ this excited since _our_ first date. Tell us what details you can when you get back, will you?"

"What makes you think I'm coming back here?" Adrien teases back, even though there's a pang in his heart at the thought. He really did come back to Luka's more often than not, even if the most he'd ever really done was fall asleep on Luka's floor. There's no chance he'll be able to go home with Ladybug no matter how badly he wants to. 

Luka squeezes his shoulder once, laughing, and then backs away and gestures at Adrien's wrist. "Look, after letting all of us at it I don't know how well your fancy watch still works, but I bet it's telling you you're running late." 

"To be fair..." Adrien flips the cover off the watch and shows it to Luka. "Juleka was the last one at it."

Instead of numbers, the watch face only has 'YOU'RE LATE' written across it in surprisingly neat handwriting.

Luka takes hold of his shoulder again to steer him gently out the door. "And she _ also _ knows you well. Go, go meet your mystery date! Tell them to have you home at ten and not a moment after!"

"Midnight," Adrien bargains cheerfully, despite both of them knowing that he may not end up at Luka's for the night at all. For all that Father never seems to notice that Adrien can't really be considered to be living in the mansion at all any more, bouncing around still seems safer for everyone involved.

"You're always late, and if we let you stay out past midnight then you may just transform back." Luka follows him up onto the deck, ready to wave him off.

Adrien winces at how painfully close to the mark Luka actually is. "To what? To my true, non-steampunk self?"

Luka elbows him playfully, careful not to put any real force behind it. "You're gonna turn into a pumpkin, Adrien."

"Why is it always a pumpkin?" Adrien complains, hopping off the boat and waving at Luka, even as he shouts back at him. "Why not a turtle, or a cat, or a bee or something? An animal would make more sense!"

"Adrien!" Luka all but shouts himself, laughing. "_ Go! _"

Luka's wrong, actually, about Adrien being late. Sort of. _ Adrien _really does tend to run late, but Chat Noir is almost always early.

He's early now, too. He and Ladybug agreed to meet at the park nearest the convention centre, and when Adrien gets there it's fairly busy but not so busy that he can't secure himself a nice sunny spot under a tree to wait for his Lady. He carefully adjusts both pairs of goggles, making sure the ladybug pair masks his face and trying unsuccessfully to keep one of the cat ears on the secondary goggles from flopping forwards. Rose had _ insisted _, no matter how often Adrien had protested that they were cat ears and not terrier ears.

He's honestly surprised Rose and Juleka hadn't tagged after him in costumes of their own.

It's a good thing they hadn't, because he's not really very good at lying to them after spending so much time around them ever since dating Luka, but he _ is _ surprised. He still half expects to see them here.

He and Ladybug hadn't been able, at first, to settle on a signal to let each other know it was really them. 

Then Ladybug had thrown her head back with a despairing groan, and said, "Our _ kwami _. Kitty, we don't have to come up with something, we'll have Plagg and Tikki with us! They can let us know!"

"Plagg is going to try and trick me," Adrien had told her immediately. 

Her eyes had narrowed. "Tell him he'll have to answer to Tikki if he does."

Adrien doesn't mean to fall asleep beneath his tree, but he's woken from his catnap by a soft giggle, an answering grumble, and a feather-light brush against his cheek. Immediately following that someone's hands land on his shoulders, pressing firmly, and Adrien's grinning even before he opens his eyes.

Ladybug's familiar bright blue eyes sparkle back at him from behind a Chat Noir mask.

Adrien laughs, delighted, and when she shifts he takes her offered hand and lets her pull him to his feet. "My lady! What flattery!"

Ladybug looks over his own outfit, the joyful light in her eyes only growing. "I think you've outdone me here, minou. I love what you've done with your spots."

Adrien can't help but sweep her a bow, even as he sweeps his eyes appreciatively over her costume. She hasn't gone his route and shown up in a stylised version of his suit- in fact, she could be _ wearing _ his suit, it's that perfect a replica. Adrien has been running around at night as Chat Noir for years and he can't spot a single detail out of place.

Ladybug is still grinning. "I didn't expect you to be quite so enthusiastic, kitty."

"Of course I am," Adrien says, much softer than he means to, but then he's suddenly nervous in a way he hasn't truly been around Ladybug in years. It's striking him again just why they're here. They're getting tattoos together. They're going to get a permanent reminder of their partnership. 

Most importantly, they're _ together _.

And though they're in disguise still, they're not transformed, which sends an absolute thrill through him. 

"Do you two even have a plan worked out?" Plagg complains, from the spot he's claimed for himself inside the collar of Adrien's vest. "Let's goooo, stop making eyes at each other, I wanna see some proper teenage rebellion!"

"Hullo, Plagg," Ladybug says mildly, giggling only a little. "You know it's not really rebellion on my part, right? My parents know where I am. I had to talk them out of following me!"

Adrien knows his return smile is weak. He hasn't even _ seen _ his father in a least three weeks now, if not longer, and he doubts Father has even noticed. He'd cancelled the last time he'd bothered to schedule checking Adrien's piano progress and those checks have been the only time Adrien has seen him at all in months. Sometimes Father will send Nathalie to talk to him, and then Adrien has to scramble to make sure that if he's not where he's supposed to be he's at least somewhere he could feasibly have ended up, but even then she mostly only contacts him for photo shoots.

Ladybug has a whole list of different nearby tattoo parlours to check. Some of them are further from the convention than others, but their kwami don't object to them transforming to travel to them, and it isn't as though they're really here _ for _ the convention. Adrien's always felt a little weird buying merchandise of himself, anyway. It's bad enough that he can't escape the billboards. 

He _ may _ have to come back for some of the Ladybug merchandise he spots. 

The first place they slip into they end up slipping back out of almost immediately. There's nothing really wrong with it, but it's a very small building with very small windows and little to no ventilation, and Ladybug takes one look before grasping Adrien's elbow and tugging him gently back out the door. 

"We're going to be in there for a while, wherever we settle on," she says, almost apologetically, even though Adrien knows very well it isn't _ her _that has trouble with enclosed spaces. 

They don't stay at the second place they find either, but that time it's because that particular parlour won't let them stay together while they're getting their tattoos. Adrien can understand that policy, honestly, but he wants Ladybug _ with _ him and it's gratifying to know she feels the same.

They enter the third tattoo parlour on Ladybug's list together and Adrien knows without having to look over at her that this is where they're staying. It feels right, somehow. It feels like Master Fu's lessons, or like the times he actually manages to tease information about previous Miraculous holders out of Plagg. There's a wall scroll with a quote from the Dalai Lama that Adrien reads and re-reads a half dozen times in the span of a few minutes.

The woman who appears around the counter looks harried for half a second, but then lights up when she sees them. "Okay, okay, I'll get you like, checked in here in a second just- just- look, question, can I get a picture of you, because I absolutely _ love _ steampunk and I love Chat Noir and Ladybug and you've just made my day and-" She's rolling up her left sleeve as she talks, revealing an intricate tattoo that looks as though her arm's been torn open to expose gears inside of it. 

Adrien exchanges a quick glance with Ladybug, because said tattoo is one of the most impressive he's ever seen. 

The tattoo artist's name is Elyse. They both agree to let her take pictures very quickly, and Elyse doesn't seem at all bothered when they both gently refuse to remove their masks. 

She also lights up when Ladybug shows her the sketch of the tattoo they'd like. 

"Okay, okay," Elyse says, leading them around the counter and into a room full of supplies and surprisingly comfortable-looking chairs. "So, question. Did you want it on the same shoulder, or opposite shoulders?"

Adrien blinks and looks at Ladybug again. 

She's already looking back at him, studying both his expression and his body language, and he quickly tries to rein in his body language because she's always been _ very _ good at reading it.

"Opposite shoulders seems appropriate," Ladybug says, a little hesitantly, without looking away from it. "But what would _ you _ prefer, kitty? It was your idea first."

He hesitates himself.

"We can get it on the same shoulder if you'd prefer that," Ladybug says, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder. Her lips twitch as she glances down at where her hand is resting, and then she slides her grip down to the actual spot they'd discussed getting their tattoos. Somehow they had neglected to think about _ which _ shoulder in all of their discussions.

Plagg abruptly nips him, and Adrien winces and half-raises a hand to his collar. 

Ladybug's hand goes to her pocket at the same moment and she gives him a knowing glance before turning to Elyse. "Um, is it all right if we step out to talk about it for a moment?"

"Oh, of course!" Elyse waves her hands, indicating the empty shop. "We're not usually busy this time of day, and I'm the owner anyway. This is something you'll have for a long time, yeah? I _ want _ you to make sure you know what you want."

Adrien grins at her, relieved. He'd been worried about having come in here without anything like an appointment but Elyse doesn't seem to be at all bothered. "Thank you."

They end up outside but not far, squeezed into a tiny alley between two buildings. Plagg only barely waits for them to be out of sight before flitting out of Adrien's collar, while Tikki waits long enough to be sure they're alone. 

Adrien and Ladybug end up stepping back towards the wall and each other as their kwami greet each other enthusiastically, shouting and teasing in a way that has Ladybug shooting occasional nervous glances towards the mouth of the alleyway.

"What is it?" Ladybug asks, holding out her hand for Tikki to land once her and Plagg break apart to go back to their respective chosen. "You two have an idea?"

"Opposite shoulders," Plagg calls, settling onto Adrien's shoulder again and pressing under his vest's high collar.

Tikki sounds far more apologetic. "Obviously it's your choice, they're your shoulders, but we both think the opposite shoulders are- a closer link? Sort of?" She tilts her head. "It feels closer to the meaning that I think you both want."

Ladybug's eyes flit up to meet Adrien's. "Two halves of a whole?"

He can't possibly stop the full body shiver at her wording. He doesn't really try.

Ladybug's eyes soften behind her copy of his mask and she reaches for him again. Adrien's moving into her grip before really thinking about it, still much too eager for any affection from his Lady. It's gotten to be a little ridiculous, over the past few years- even if she'd never agreed to date him, Ladybug has never _ once _ turned him away from seeking attention or reassurance, and Adrien's had plenty of both from his growing group of friends and from the family he's found on the Liberty.

He suspects, sometimes, that Anarka would have claimed him as her own with or without his permission if she'd thought she could get away with it. He _ knows _ she's found some kind of workaround or legal loophole that means Rose is listed as officially part of the Couffaine family already. Maybe Adrien had missed out on their tattoos, but Luka and Juleka have been quick to assure him that he's still _ family _.

Anarka has never cared that Adrien wanders at night and sometimes doesn't come back to the ship for days at a time. Occasionally Rose or Juleka will check in with him if it's been more than a week or two, but since if Adrien isn't with them he's with another of their friends it's rare that anyone gets too worried. The stark contrast in the level of _ freedom _ against his stifling childhood is what keeps Adrien returning to the Liberty even now. 

Rose and Juleka wander too, he's noticed. They rarely show up at Kim's unless it's a night where nearly everyone is there but Adrien _has_ had to abandon Marinette's balcony before they can spot Chat Noir there before, and he knows that they go to Mylene's sometimes as well. 

Anarka only asks them if their cell phones are charged. He doesn't think he's ever even heard her ask when they'll be _ back _.

And Luka was homeschooled.

It had knocked Adrien for a loop, learning that. 

He had always assumed-

Luka was homeschooled, too, and Anarka had not kept him inside. Anarka had barely hired tutors. Adrien's _ seen _ the easy way she knows to pull up alongside another boat and cross over, knows that she's taken Luka as well as Juleka and Rose onto them for cruising tours of the Seine to learn its history, knows that she's taken them all out into the city to walk its streets and _ learn _ by immersing themselves in their city.

Luka asks him, once, if he's still in touch with the other kids from his homeschool group.

It's the first time that Adrien learns that homeschool groups exist.

"Oh," Luka had said, thoughtfully, before taking Adrien's hands. They'd still been dating, then. "I guess I knew that private tutors are different, but I've never thought about how much."

Neither had Adrien.

Ladybug is still watching him, and Plagg's claws are starting to dig through his shirt. (He'd requested heavier material for just that reason).

Adrien swallows and is surprised that his voice doesn't shake when he answers. "Opposite shoulders, then."

Ladybug goes first, after a quick coin flip that Adrien is not wholly certain wasn't rigged somehow.

He fidgets so badly waiting on her that she takes one of his hands with her free one, turning it over and tracing where his claws would be if they were actually transformed, and Adrien shivers again. 

He's never touched Ladybug without their suits in the way. 

They touch each other all the time, they've always had little to no personal space with each other, but it's always been with the suits as a buffer between them. The warm press of her hand and the bared skin of her shoulder is nearly too much for him.

He can't know, later, how long their tattoos take. He barely remembers switching places with her. He doesn't think the tattoo hurt, but he also doesn't think he'd know if it did. 

They find a park afterwards. They can't stop and study each other's tattoos right now, they're both still bandaged, but Elyse made sure to show them each other's while they were still in the tattoo parlour. 

Ladybug and Plagg are taking turns keeping Adrien from poking at his.

"Sorry," he says, sheepishly, when Tikki joins in as well. "It just doesn't feel quite real yet, you know?"

"Oh, kitty." Ladybug grins at him, taking both his hands while still cautious not to tug at their nearly-healing matching markings. "We'll have to meet up again to show them off to each other, won't we?" She finds them a bench and sits down, not stopping him from curling up beside her like he might on a patrol. Adrien does shift a little, uncomfortably, and resists the urge to poke at his tattoo again. It doesn't hurt any more than a sunburn might but it doe_ s itch _.

But he freezes at her words, twisting a little to look up at her uncertainly. He's surprised enough that she suggested they stay at the park for a while. He's even _ more _ surprised that she'd want to flirt with endangering their identities even more often.

"Chat Noir." She reaches over with her unmarked arm and brushes back his hair, laughing a little when his eyes slide shut with a purr. "It's been years, kitten, I trust you."

His purr stutters. "I-I trust you too, LB, but-"

"Chat Noir," she says again, and this time there's a note of trepidation in her voice that he hasn't heard in years. "I-I didn't want to ask, before. You had a boyfriend, first, and then- I know you said you stayed friends but I know you were hurting when you broke up, too, but it's been a while now and-" She takes a deep breath. "Chat Noir, if you still want to, uh, if you still want to try dating-"

He stays very still, stunned, not sure he heard her correctly. 

"Kitty?" Ladybug asks cautiously. "Chat Noir? Are you all-"

"You mean it?" His voice is barely audible, even to himself, and he winces and tries again, eyes slitting back open. There's still a painful note of hope in his words when he repeats himself. "You really- you really mean it? You're not kidding?"

"Oh, kitty." Ladybug leans over him, looking down at him with a sad smile. "I would never do that to you. Chat Noir, it's been- it's been years, now, and I trust you more than anyone, and if- if you're still interested-" She looks suddenly worried. "But if you're not! That's okay too, I don't want you to feel pressured or anything, I know I've turned you down so many times and then you seemed so happy with your boyfriend and-"

Ladybug buries her face in her hands. Muffled, she says, "This is not how I pictured this going at all."

"You're serious?" Adrien is still having trouble with that.

"I'm serious." She drops her hands again to look at him, but she glances away quickly at whatever it is she sees in his expression and starts to fiddle with her replica of his ring. "I know you're still pretty close with your ex, so if it's still too soon-"

"No!" Adrien exclaims, finally swinging upright and reaching for her. "No, it's- we're friends, he lets me stay there sometimes, Luka'd understand."

Ladybug relaxes and reaches back for him. "I'm sorry it's taken me so long, kitty."

"_ Don't be _ ," he says, wrapping her in a hug, delighted when she hugs him back even though it isn't as though she's ever _ not _ hugged him back. "I think- I think it's a good thing you waited, honestly. I think I needed to know I could date other people. But I- he knew I still loved someone else, and he does, too. We tried, and I'm glad we tried and he's still important to me, but I think we both knew it was never really going to work." He smiles into her shoulder and laughs. "He told me you should have me back by ten."

She laughs. "I think I'd like him, kitty. Especially knowing how good he's been to you." 

They make plans for the rest of the week, planning days to meet up around days to patrol and then slotting in times for the inevitable akuma attacks. They plan for days with and without masks and it's around then that Adrien realises that their kwami are nowhere to be seen.

"I think they're catching up with each other, too, minou," Ladybug says, tracing the embroidery on his vest absently. "Did Plagg seem really excited about our tattoos, too? Because Tikki definitely did."

Adrien resists the urge to poke at his bandage again. "A little. He asked me if I was sure, which isn't really like him."

"We have gone a bit backwards, getting matching tattoos on a first date," Ladybug admits, and it's only when her lips curve in a knowing smile that Adrien suspects she said that just to see the look on his face.

It isn't until they get up to leave, their kwami flitting back to them, that Ladybug suddenly stops as though struck.

"What?" Adrien asks, nervous all over again. It's strange not to feel his tail lashing. He keeps forgetting that they aren't transformed, even though they don't look anything like themselves right now. Even out of their suits, they're still _ themselves _ anyway, and their reactions to each other haven't changed. 

Though they might now, now that their relationship has.

"I'm sorry, it's- it's probably nothing. Or a coincidence. It's just-" Ladybug blinks, twice, rapidly, and then her expression does something complicated behind her mask. "Did you say your boyfriend's name was _ Luka _?"

**Author's Note:**

> title from onerepublic's 'something i need'
> 
> i thought the kid you knew as a teenager whose parents were mysteriously nonexistent was a Universal Thing but apparently it is not, which raises several questions for me in retrospect


End file.
